


Pierced

by chicago_ruth



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Needles, Piercings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-01
Updated: 2011-09-01
Packaged: 2017-10-23 08:04:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/248039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicago_ruth/pseuds/chicago_ruth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gwaine gives Merlin a piercing. It's no big deal, really. (Fill for a kmm prompt)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pierced

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to t8nt3dsoul for the content beta. :)

The scene was familiar, routine. Gwaine had seen many a young adult bare their stomach to him nervously, ready to have Gwaine puncture a hole in them. The only difference was the location -- a bedroom instead of a piercing parlor -- and the client.

Merlin was breathing shallowly, and his entire body was tense. He would occasionally open his eyes to look at Gwaine, then squeeze them shut again. His hands clutched at the bed sheets, alternatively clenching and releasing them.

"You're only making it worse," Gwaine commented. He ran a hand along Merlin's stomach, feeling it shudder.

Merlin shook his head. "It's worse if I look." He lifted his hand briefly, as if to reach out for Gwaine, but then dropped it again.

Looking could be bad, yes, but Merlin was so strung up on anticipation that the slightest movement made him tense up more. Gwaine let his eyes rake over Merlin's body, clad only in boxers, and tried to determine how best to approach the problem.

The equipment was already laid out on the small night table, everything within easy reach. Gwaine put a bit of antiseptic on a ball of cotton and turned his full attention on Merlin. He placed one hand on Merlin's chest. "Breathe, Merlin."

Merlin responded by taking a series of short, shallow breaths.

Gwaine sighed. "Deep breaths."

To his credit, at least Merlin tried. His breathing evened out a bit, though he wasn't quite relaxed yet. Gwaine leaned forward and placed a kiss on Merlin's stomach. "We can always stop, you know. You don't have to do this."

Merlin shook his head. "No, no, I want to. I just-- It's just a bit scary."

"Scary" was probably an understatement. Merlin looked terrified, and Gwaine echoed that feeling, albeit for different reasons. The actual act, piercing Merlin's belly button, that was easy. He'd worked at the piercing parlor for two years, and in that time had had hundreds of customers. But Merlin wasn't just a customer.

Gwaine sat back and rubbed the antiseptic on Merlin's navel. Once that was done, he threw the ball of cotton into the trash; after that he put on thin rubber gloves and picked up the forceps. "I'm going to clamp the forceps around the skin now. Don't panic, all right?"

A nervous laugh escaped Merlin's throat. "Panic? Why would I panic?"

Gwaine decided not to answer that. Despite Merlin's obvious distress -- or because of it -- Gwaine was getting distracted in a whole different manner. He had to keep his hands steady, and not think of how much trust Merlin was placing in him, or how Merlin had agreed to this despite his self-professed dislike of needles. Gwaine had contemplated tying Merlin down for this, though the resulting squirming would have probably been even stronger.

To his credit, Merlin did manage to stay still once the forceps were placed. Gwaine picked up the thin needle and held it in place near the skin. "I'm going to do this now. Are you sure you--"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure."

"Okay, then take a deep breath and hold it." Gwaine pitched his voice low, the tone of voice that usually got Merlin to do as he asked immediately. Merlin's stomach stopped moving, and Gwaine said "exhale" as he pushed the needle up through the skin.

Merlin laughed: a nervous, brittle sound. "Shit. Shit. That's..."

Gwaine set the forceps aside and picked up the small, silver barbell. "That's the worst of it. You did good." He gave no warning as he slid the barbell through with the rest of the needle, eliciting a soft hiss from Merlin, the reaction strangely subdued when compared to his earlier nervousness. The barbell settled neatly into Merlin's bellybutton, a simple, metallic shine against Merlin's pale skin. Gwaine had to swallow and force himself to continue.

Once the end of the barbell was screwed on and the needle and gloves disposed of, Gwaine allowed himself to enjoy the view: Merlin, flushed and shaking, and very, very marked. _This could be mine_ , Gwaine thought.

Merlin had calmed considerably, eyes now open and staring down at the new piercing. His cock was half-hard under his boxers, which was definitely promising. Gwaine sat down on the bed next to Merlin and tugged on Merlin's boxers; Merlin wriggled enough so that the boxers slid half-way down his thighs. Something about that half-covered state made Merlin look even more debauched than complete nudity would have. Gwaine smiled and reached to give Merlin's cock a few short tugs, coaxing it to full erection. Merlin moaned in response and shifted his hips, trying to follow Gwaine's touch.

"Did it hurt?" Gwaine asked, tightening his grip and causing Merlin's breath to stutter.

"Not as much as I thought it would. I feel kind of... weird. High."

"That's the endorphins and the adrenaline. You really got yourself worked up over this." Gwaine kissed Merlin, open mouthed and messy as Merlin moaned.

"Next time," _if there was a next time_ , "maybe I should tie you down and blindfold you. You wouldn't know where and when the needles are coming," Gwaine said; Merlin gasped and curled closer towards him.

"Yes, yes, please." Merlin reached out blindly until he found the zipper on Gwaine's jeans, fumbling to undo it. In the end he gave up and just ground the palm of his hand against Gwaine's crotch, a bit too rough and just this side of painful.

"Fuck, Merlin, I see your skin and just want to mark it completely." Gwaine bit down on Merlin's shoulder, on a spot that should have had grooves by now with the amount of times it had been abused.

Nobody who looked at Merlin would think he was such a deviant in bed -- Gwaine certainly hadn't expected it. But here Merlin was, writhing against him, all because Gwaine had given him a simple piercing that had most people crying out in pain. How Merlin could claim to be afraid of needles, Gwaine didn't know.

He pulled Merlin closer, so he was half on Gwaine's lap, and used his free hand to pinch one of Merlin's nipples.

"Again," Merlin said with a gasp, and Gwaine complied; over and over, until Merlin shuddered, coming with a sharp intake of breath. His hand on Gwaine's crotch went limp; Gwaine pushed it aside to undo the fly properly and pull out his own dick.

"I can do that," Merlin mumbled, but Gwaine shook his head. "S'allright, you can pay me back later." His hand was still slick with Merlin's come, enough to help his hand glide across his cock.

"Fuck, you're hot," Merlin groaned, "you and your damn piercings. Your fault I wanted one." His hand started to move down to his navel, probably to prod at the piercing; Gwaine reached out with his other hand to stop him, and Merlin entwined their fingers. "Y'know the first time I saw you, I only noticed you because of the eyebrow piercing."

Gwaine knew, because Merlin had told him so the very day they'd met. The memory of that night at the club, grinding up against Merlin as Merlin touched all of the visible hooks and studs in Gwaine's ear and face...

Merlin chose that moment to lean over and start sucking on Gwaine's earlobe, tonguing two of the studs -- the abrupt sensation sent Gwaine over the edge. Fuck, Merlin had a way of taking him by surprise every time.

"We need to get you cleaned up," Gwaine commented. Right away, actually; if he'd done this in the piercing parlor he'd have been fired for his unsanitary behavior. Well, he _had_ gotten fired for giving that one customer a blowjob, but in his defense the guy had initiated it.

He used tissues to clean off the mess from their bodies, then sprayed more antiseptic on Merlin's navel. "I'll teach you how to keep it from getting infected."

Merlin shuffled over to make more room on the bed and pulled Gwaine close. "You can do that for me, right? Keep it clean for me."

And there, those words, they got Gwaine's heart pumping and the fear rising in his throat. That damn barbell was as much as a commitment as a ring on his finger. Merlin expected Gwaine to stick around for a while, long enough to watch the piercing heal and then some. He was ready to leap out of bed and buy the next ticket out of town -- maybe even out of the country.

There was an excuse on the tip of his tongue, some reason why he couldn't stay the night, but it died when Merlin pulled the comforter over them and twined their legs together. "You're the best," Merlin said against Gwaine's shoulder.

Leaving now would crush Merlin's heart. Gwaine was a self-proclaimed cad, but even he couldn't do that to Merlin. He told the constricted feeling in his chest to settle down and focus on the more important things, like how Merlin's body would look with six or seven sharp needles pierced through the skin. Gwaine traced the skin exactly where he wanted to puncture it -- it would be a beautiful line of red and silver from Merlin's nipples down to his hips -- and was rewarded with a faint sigh from Merlin.

"I thought you hated needles?" he probed.

Merlin shook his head slowly, eyes already half-lidded with sleep. "Hate needles. Love being with you. Love how you make me feel."

Gwaine fought to keep his grin from slipping. Merlin's words weren't a confession; any man with a penchant for needles and dishing out pain could make Merlin feel good. _Stay calm_ , he told himself, _he isn't asking you to fucking marry him._ Next sign of trouble Merlin would probably be kicking him out the door anyway. "Yeah, I... like how you make me feel too."

The hammering in his chest wasn't going away, but Gwaine figured he could live with it for now.


End file.
